Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki – Maliki As Dictator?

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki asked the parliament to withdraw confidence from his Sunni deputy after he described Maliki as “dictator”, an official Iraqi television reported on Sunday.

“The prime minister sent a letter to the parliament, asking for withdrawing confidence from Salih al-Mutlak as he is no longer eligible for his post as deputy prime minister,” Yassin Majeed, a leading figure in Maliki’s Shiite State of Law political bloc, said in an interview with the state-run channel of Iraqia.

Previously, Mutlak described Maliki as “dictator” during an interview with CNN, and separately Mutlak told his own satellite channel of Babiliyah that “Maliki is worse than Saddam Hussein.”

Meanwhile, Iraqi media reports said that Iraqi security forces arrested two officers working as guards for Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, and a driver in Hashimi’s office, for their alleged involvement in a car bomb explosion near the parliament building inside Baghdad’s Green Zone late on November.

The reports also said that an arrest warrant had been issued for Hashimi himself, but judicial and police officials preferred not give further details until further investigation.

The bloc made its decision after a meeting held late on Friday in the residence of Tariq al-Hashimi and was attended by Allawi and all members of the bloc in the parliament and cabinet, Haider al-Mulla, spokesman for al-Iraqia said.